Sunday, April 13, 2014

Similar to our initial advice on how to care for a sarong , we've taken further investigation by talking to our loyal 1 World Sarongs customers as well as doing tons of reading on other reliable sarong resources to get the first dips on the best way to wash a sarong.

We all use our sarongs in the most versatile way and having them exposed to all kinds of environment makes you wonder - what's the best way to keep them clean and fresh at all times? The key is to maintain your sarongs in the best way possible so that it stays in its best condition and you can have long lasting sarongs.

The first step is to find out how delicate is the clothing and so you can ask yourself: what fabric or material is the Sarong? It's always important to determine the fabric or material - are you washing a batik, silk, polyester, cotton or rayon sarong? It's also important to check whether you're washing a sarong with fringe or fringeless sarongs.

So far the most important and consistent tip that we found useful is that using COLD WATER (or low temperature water, if you must) is the best way to wash your sarongs.

Why?

Well, most people would use hot water wash to effectively remove heavy dirt or germs but the downfall in using hot water is that your clothes are prone to higher risk of wrinkle, shrinking or fading especially for your vibrant and strong colored sarongs. The positive factor in using cold or low temperature water when washing is that you get to protect your delicate sarongs and ensure that the color quality of your sarongs are well-maintained.

Another cool factor about avoiding hot temperature machine wash is that you get to conserve energy, avoid wastage and do your part in saving the environment with less carbon footprints on Earth. That's because setting your washing machine at hot temperature requires more electricity to heat than using unheated water and saving electricity also means you get to save money!

Hand Wash Tips
This is probably the most efficient and effective Sarong washing method. It's the best way to wash your sarong AND the most environmental friendly practice too. If you have read our sarong labels you would already know that it's the correct way to care for your sarong and here's what we think:

1) If you want to use hot or warm water, keep the soak duration at a minimal period (maximum 60 minutes) and if you use cold water, feel free to use longer soaking hours (overnight soak is fine) to help remove stains or heavy dirt.

2) Use very minimal or no detergent at all. Besides, using less chemicals is the least we can do to help protect our Earth! If you insist to have your clean sarongs smell like fragrance then we would like to suggest a little DIY home project for you. Why not create your own non-toxic home made natural laundry detergent? Get instructions on how to make your very own natural laundry detergent.

3) Don't over do the rubbing, a gently kneading is sufficient. (So avoid washing your sarongs when feeling temperamental or angry)
4) Avoid soaking your colored sarongs with any white clothing. (Unless you plan to get into a tie dye project :))

While we always encourage our customers to stick to hand wash (as instructed on our sarong labels!), some of you might still prefer to save time and effort by tossing your sarongs into the machine for a wash and if that's the case, here are some advice:

1) Wash separately from other clothing (especially for first time wash), consequently make sure you wash your sarong following the basic rule of laundry - always separate the clothing by colors.

2) Set the machine at preferably cold or low temperature.

3) Minimal wash cycles and rinses work best for your light weight sarongs. There's no point in over washing your sarongs due to its breathable and delicate material unless if you're washing cotton sarongs.

4) Use very little detergent because sarong fabrics are not thick, so you might as well save up on detergent.

LOL

Finally, now that your sarongs are all washed and cleaned, the final step is to get it dry and ready for your next usage. So the question is..

So now that we've shared our insights on how to wash your sarongs, we hope that you'll use these tips to care for your sarong. If you have ideas or tips or personal experiences on how to wash a sarong, please do leave us a feedback!

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